Authors that present a well-developed, convincing argument can have a large influence on their reader's thoughts. In the passage, "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author explains the different reasons as to why Earth, as a whole, should further study the planet of Venus, alotting all its difficulties. While the kinks of being able to go to Venus are still being worked out, this author gives insight as to why this barren planet is still important.

The first idea the author had was related to the atmosphere of Venus. "A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the coulds of higly corrosive sufuric acid in Venus's atmosphere." In Paragraph 3, the author does not give a higly convincing argument. Humans need oxygen to live, so how is it expected for them to survive on a planet that has little to no oxygen? It is not possible to change the chemical makeup of an entire planet. The argument displayed by the author is not credible in any way and does not give any reason as to why one would want to continure research in this area.

The next problem that Earth faces in studying Venus is that temperatures on this planet exceed 800 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature found nowhere on Earth. This temperature is beyond the maximun limit that human can edure, which leaves behind the compelling factor of wanting to study more of this sister planet. The author also states, ". . . and the atmospheric pressure is 9 times greater than what we experience on our own planet. These conditions are far more extreme that anything humans encounter on Earth." If the conditions of Venus are so bad, why should we be expected to study more of this planet. Similar to the carbon dioxide in the air, there is no way to change the temperature and pressure of an entire planet. Once again, the argument given by this author is not convincing.

The author uses an idea proposed by NASA for humans to study Venus. They say that they could use hovering vehcles such as a blimp to fly over the planet, somewhere around 30 miles high. While 30 miles is a long way abover the planet, the temperature would still be around 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not ideal for reseachers. "Not easy conditions, but survivable for humans." If studying a planet is as difficult as the author is saying here, then Venus should be abandoned because even if NASA was able to study it, there is obviously no way that the planet will ever be suitable to live on. The author's arguments so far have all been a lost cause.

The author does explain that Venus may have been previously similar to Earth-like conditions, including oceans to support forms of life. He states that it has similar features to Earth such as valleys, mountains, and craters. While this may be too, Venus has come a long way in that it is no longer able to sustain life. Even if it previously was similar to Earth, that means that it has gotten worse over time, which says that from here on, it will continue to grow worse.

Proven by the author, Venus's conditions are far too extreme for the technology we have today. This planet is increasingly too dangerous to be explored, therefore the research toward it should be abandoned, and pushed more toward studying other plants, or even other solar systems in order to find another sutiable planet for humans to comfortably live on. 